Hendricks County’s Vandalia Trail will get upgrade

A sign welcomes horseback riders to the Vandalia Trail in Amo, Ind. on Friday, July 13, 2012. For now, the trail runs from Amo to Coatesville, but will eventually expand to Plainfield, Fillmore and Crawfordsville. Riding the trail and back, about three miles in each direction, takes about 90 minutes. Charlie Nye / The Star.(Photo: Charlie Nye)

A $1.9 million state grant will start the transformation of the rustic Vandalia Trail in Hendricks County into an modern walking, biking and equestrian path.

“In the very soon future, you’ll be able to ride a bicycle from Amo all the way to Greencastle,” said Hendricks County Parks superintendent William Roche.

The Indiana Department of Transportation grant will go toward construction of a 10-foot-wide paved path and parallel horse trail along an old railroad bed, running for about 4 miles from Amo to the western border of Hendricks County, Roche said. The work is slated to start in 2016.

It’s a step for a long-percolating project that aims to eventually develop the trail system to extend across the state. Through Hendricks County, the burgeoning trail will span 12 miles from the western county line to link up with a section of the trail in Plainfield, Roche said.

Developing the Vandalia Trail comes with the hopes of creating an economic driver for the county, Roche said, by attracting visitors both local and out-of-state. It could contribute to improving quality of life and raising property values. It could serve as an alternate form of commuting to work and a place for recreational exercise.

“We always say, go out and get your exercise, but we don’t always provide the resources to do that,” Roche said.

The existing Vandalia Trail has been cultivated in large part by volunteers and grants in addition to support from the county, said Greg Midgley, an Avon resident who leads Friends of the Vandalia Trail. A citizens advisory group will give input to the county throughout the trail’s construction.

“Trails can and should be part of our transportation system,” he said.

The county solicited public comment on the trail, which Roche and Midgley both said brought up some concerns over whether the trail would lead to more crime — but both said that’s a misconception.

The group likely will seek grant funding for developing the rest of the trail through Hendricks County. The county parks board matched the $1.9 million grant with more than $400,000, Roche said.

The county continues to study possible environmental effects of building out the trail — for example, he said, the hydrology of where water will go when it rains. Other elements to work out could include parking to access the trail, a bridge along the trail and signage.

When the weather is nice, Josh Baldwin and his parents in Amo often hit the trail on mountain bikes to head to Greencastle.

“It’s something that they can do to get out of the house,” said Baldwin, 23, adding, “It’s a good workout.”

He liked that the trail was planned for updates: “It’s a beautiful trail already, but it’s just going to open it up for a larger group of people.”